Four or Five
by Namelythedanger
Summary: Five. Five had always been the perfect number. Dipper, Mabel, Stan, Wendy, and Soos. They had their perfect dynamic. Mystery twins, cool teenage girl, parent figure, and friendly handyman. Five. Three summers past and that dynamic had never changed. Thus far. With Wendy off to college, what adventures await the Mystery Shack residents when a new boy and his brother show up?
1. The Return

**A/N:**

 **This is my first story for Gravity Falls or Over the Garden Wall! Comments are always welcome, feel free to tell me any mistakes I've made. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Five. Five had always been the perfect number. Dipper, Mabel, Stan, Wendy, and Soos. They had their perfect dynamic. Mystery twins, cool teenage girl, parent figure, and friendly handyman. Five. Three summers past and that dynamic had never changed. Mabel and Wendy went through boyfriends, Soos kept it steady with Melody, and Stan and Dipper remained, as everyone expected, less-than-desirable bachelors, what with Dipper remaining an awkward, lanky teenager and Stan remaining… an old man.

However, with teary eyes- mostly Dipper's- and heartfelt goodbyes- also mostly Dipper's- four of the five had to let Wendy go from their dynamic… quintet? Yes, quintet. Wendy had been accepted into West Oregon University, and so last summer was the last in which their quintet was still a… quintet. What an awkward word to use in this case, seriously.

Needless to say, Dipper wasn't quite as enthusiastic to return to Gravity Falls as he usually was. The sixteen year-old, who now had enough hair growing on his face to make a proper patch that looked somewhat like a beard, now had three journals to explore instead of just the one after the, well, unexpected departure of Stanford. But he didn't like thinking about that. He had spent three years carefully reading each one, discovering every little hidden secret in the very limited amount of time he had in Gravity falls. He still had so much yet to discover for himself that, despite the absence of Wendy, he was looking forward to his summer.

Four. He would have to get used to four. Well, at least four would be better than two. Not that he didn't love his sister, but the more the merrier, right? At the moment it was just the two of them on the bus to Gravity Falls. It wasn't really odd. They usually took the trip to and from Gravity Falls alone. Both because people didn't often come, and people didn't often leave. Save for the tourists, but there was a thankful absence of them at the moment.

"I can see the tree!" Came his sister's voice from beside him. Her nose was pressed to the bus window that was already mostly translucent with the facial grease of every other kid who had stuck their noses on that window. Dipper tried to tell her that that was where her "beginning of summer zit" came from, but she didn't listen.

"Mabel, there are lots of trees," he muttered, his nose in journal #2.

"I know that, grumpy pants, but this is _the_ tree!"

"What makes that one special? Is there a spray-painted muffin on it or something?" Dipper acted all aloof and intelligent, as usual, but Mabel knew that he was just as excited for the summer. Well, almost as excited.

"The hole,"

"You mean the knot?"

"Fine, knot, whatever," Mabel rolled her eyes at her brother. "It's the tree with the knot that we pass every time we come here! That means we're only twenty minutes away!"

Twenty minutes? Only twenty minutes until summer could officially begin! He shut the journal, not needing to mark the page considering he knew exactly what every page number was, and looked out of the window as well, finding a spot that wasn't too covered in gross face-grease to see through. They were mostly surrounded by trees, since Gravity falls was in the middle of nowhere. Dipper wasn't quite sure why he was already looking for anything, since, if they were twenty minutes away from the Mystery Shack, there would be a good five minutes before there was any sight of civilization. Maybe it was just the pure excitement of being where he actually felt like he belonged. In weird, strange, and mysterious Gravity Falls.

"So what are your plans for the summer, dip'n'dots?" Mabel inquired with a small laugh. She hadn't done much changing in four years. She never grew out of sweaters, or glitter, but she did get her braces removed, so there was that. She was also now officially shorter than Dipper by a whopping three centimeters.

"What are yours? And don't call me dip'n'dots!" The boy pretended to be annoyed.

"Boys. Adventure. The usual. I'll bet yours are about the same, huh?"

"Just because I like boys doesn't mean that's part of my plans, Mabel," that was absolutely part of his plans. Now that he was certain to be a bisexual, his love life would hold so many more options! Maybe he would do better with boys that he did with girls. Not that girls were totally behind him, of course. Girls were always a good option.

"Oh, come on. We both know along with some good old Gravity Falls adventure, boys are on your to-do list," Mabel insisted. She had always been heavily invested in his love life, but now that he knew that boys were an option for possible future relationships, she was twice as invested.

"That sounds so dirty,"

"Ew! Not like that! I don't want to think about all of that," She shivered.

"What? If you want to be my matchmaker, you've got to think about every possible outcome of my relationships, including s-" Dipper was cut off by his sister covering her ears and loudly humming to block out the noise.

"You're not even legal, la la la la…" Mabel sung with her hands still over her ears.

"I'm legal in England," Dipper could barely hold back his laughter. He knew that talking about sex in regards to himself was one of Mabel's least favorite things to do. Relationships, she could handle. What could become of them? Not so much.

"We're in Oregon!"

"Close enough." At this point Mabel had uncovered her ears and stopped singing, thankfully, but her cheeks were bright red and she looked anywhere but her brother. He was such a boy sometimes! Didn't he know that sex was… gross? And in his case, illegal. She knew that he was joking about everything, but still, she didn't like to think of Dipper in that sort of circumstance.

The both of them were silent until they finally saw it. Above the trees, the first glimpse of Gravity Falls! None other than the water tower with the big muffin artfully spray-painted upon it. They were finally here. Finally home.

"Gravity Falls!" Mabel exclaimed, just like she did every year.

"Gravity Falls," Dipper repeated.

The two of them spent the rest of the bus ride pointing out familiar sights and faces, waving to those who recognized them, which were quite a few. The return of Dipper and Mabel every summer was always at the same time, on the same day, so everyone expected it. Eventually they were engulfed in woods once again, but that just got them more excited. Woods meant Mystery Shack.

And speak of the devil, in just five too-long minutes, the bus was grinding to a halt just a bit away from the shack. It looked the exact same as usual. The grass was overgrown and weedy, the "Mystery Shack" sign was missing the _S_. Just more work for Dipper to do on the place .The two hurriedly grabbed their bags, giving the driver a few thank-you's before they practically jumped off of the bus. That was ultimately a mistake, since jumping whilst carrying a summer's worth of clothes and such wasn't the safest task. Mabel laughed as she and her bags fell to the ground, but Dipper quickly hopped up, dusting himself off and picking his bags back up. He let Mabel have her laugh while he headed up to the shack, breathing in the familiar scent of forest and pigs. One pig, to be specific. Upon entering the shack, expecting to be greeted by Stan or Soos, he was instead warmly greeted by a child punching his leg.

"We're gonna burgle you!" the child said with a bright smile.

"Greg! Don't do that!" Exclaimed another unfamiliar voice from behind the counter. "Sorry, um, sir, he's not supposed to _say that."_ he clearly directed that last part to "Greg". "How can I help you?"

Dipper looked up from the small boy to see… another boy. A much taller boy. A much _prettier_ boy. He looked older, with dark sienna hair that he and the other boy seemed to share. Were they related? He honestly didn't care. All he cared about was looking at this other boy.

"I… live here?" Wow, Dipper. Wow. Way to be cool and suave.

"Oh! You're… Mr. Pine's kid, right?"

"Great-nephew," Dipper corrected.

"Great-nephew, okay. I'm Wirt. Mr. Pines hired me to work in the shack for the summer. Yesterday was my first day," he sounded a bit awkward. Perfect. This boy being the total package would be more than inconvenient. A bit of shyness would even out their dynamic and put them on the same level. "It's a… weird place, but in a good way. Sort of. Even if it is in the woods."

"What's wrong with the woods?" Finally, a topic of conversation.

"I almost got turned into a tree!" Greg interrupted without knowing that it wasn't his turn to talk. "There was a lantern, and a turtle, and Jason Funderburker was there-"

"Greg! He doesn't want to hear about that. You know, kids and their… stories," Wirt laughed awkwardly with absolutely no real humor in his voice. "The woods and I don't really get along. But I like the shack. By the way, do you need any help with those bags?"

"I do!" exclaimed a girl's voice from behind him. Mabel. Damn her timing. "I need so much help with all of my bags." She gave her signature sweet smile.

"Wirt, this is my sister. Mabel," Dipper sighed, picking up his bags because he would be damned if he left this boy and his sister alone together.

"Hi, Mabel. I've been told a lot about you from Mr. Pines," Wirt smiled and Dipper could feel his stomach become lighter.

"Am I as wonderful as you were told?" Mabel was clearly trying her best to drop a charm-bomb on this poor, unsuspecting boy. His poor soul. Wirt was clearly the first thing on Mabel's to-do list. It seemed that both of the twin's lists were much more similar than expected. But the last thing he wanted was to fight his sister over a boy.

The problem was that the _first_ thing he wanted was Wirt.

" _Did somebody say Mr. Pines_?" Called the too-late voice of none other than Grunkle Stan. A cloud of smoke that had all of the children coughing appeared, and as did the old man himself.

"Y-Yes, Mr. Pines," stammered Wirt as he choked on smoke. It dissipated when Greg opened the door. "Twice now. And you came in late."

"I let out the smoke," Greg said with his normal resting face. That happened to be a smile.

"Do I pay you to tell me what I do wrong?" Stan asked the boy sarcastically. Wirt's muttering of "do you even pay me?" was ignored as the man approached his great-niece and nephew. "You're taller now. Why do you have facial hair? And who told you that you could be taller than me? I didn't!" That was his way of saying "hello".

"I'm sixteen, Grunkle Stan. We get taller," Dipper chuckled. In just a year he had had a serious growth spurt, and grew one foot in three months. The stretch marks really looked odd. "Are we still in the attic?"

"What do you want, the penthouse suite? Yes, you're in the attic," Stan said, looking the children up and down. Wirt and Greg just sort of stood awkwardly behind them. Well, Greg was playing with the merchandise. Wirt was the only one standing awkwardly. After a moment's hesitation, Stan placed an arm around each child's shoulder, both to show affection and to make the kids shorter than him. "It's good to see you knuckleheads. Fourth summer in Gravity Falls. Try to make less trouble. Don't do what I wouldn't do." Everyone present, save for Greg, recognized how contradictory that sentence was. "Never mind. Make as much trouble as you want. Just stay away from journal stuff. And keep the trouble away from the shack. And the police." With that, he released the children, before giving the both of them a good noogie to start off the summer.

"We love you too, Grunkle Stan," Mabel pressed a kiss to his cheek now that she could finally reach it without a stepping stool. "Don't worry about journal stuff. I glued all three shut."

"You _what?"_ both men practically shouted.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Mabel laughed, speaking as quickly as she could so that neither men would literally attack her. They probably wouldn't, though. Probably. "I mean, I might be." She grinned, laughing as her brother and Great Uncle both looked as if they were about to have heart attacks.

"Is this was Pines family time is like?" Wirt asked, the question mostly directed at Dipper.

"Yes,"

"Yeah,"

"Mostly."


	2. Breaking Bonds

**A/N: Wow! There's been a much better response to this than I thought! Thanks for reading. Here's another chapter for you guys!**

* * *

Settling in was the same as usual, though Dipper and Mabel were thankful for the familiarity. As per usual, Grunkle Stan didn't move any of their stuff from the last time they were there. Their beds were in the same place, as were their posters, and whatever they lest last summer, like the odd sock or Dipper's _Abba_ CD that Mabel definitely didn't hide under her bed at the end of last summer. Definitely.

The attic reeked of mold and mothballs, though it looked like Grunkle Stan had worked hard to clean it up a bit. It was noticeable in that the windows were clean enough to see through, and you couldn't actually taste the dust if you breathed through your mouth. As hard as their great-uncle could be on them, it was occasions like this that clearly showed that he cared for these children.

Wirt wasn't actually able to assist with their bags, since Greg got into the grappling hooks and not even the combined power of Wirt and Stan could get him to put him down. The young boy had just recently turned ten, and his mannerisms had barely changed at all from their adventure in the Unknown when he was only six. Dipper didn't mind his absence. There was less of a chance that he'd embarrass himself if Wirt wasn't there. Besides, he needed to have a serious conversation with Mabel, alone.

"Dibs!" The twins exclaimed in unison once their bedroom door was closed. What a way to start the summer, with both twins pining after the same boy.

Ha. Pining.

"Nuh-uh, I called dibs first!" Mabel insisted.

"I saw him first!"

"I was born first!"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Dipper, for once, had lost his whole impassive, smart exterior aura and it was quickly replaced with that of a lovesick idiot. "I actually met him. You probably don't even know his name." he smirked smugly.

"It's… Wart? Is that what you called him?" Mabel said. Dipper could only laugh.

"Who would name their child Wart, Mabel? His name is Wirt," He seemed incredibly proud of the fact that he actually knew his crush's name.

"Your name is Dipper," she said, as if to justify her guess.

"That's not even my real name. Come on, I'm tired of this. Both of us have dibs, so whoever he picks gets him. And if he picks neither of us, he picks neither of us. Is that fair?" Dipper proposed, holding out his hand to shake.

With a reluctant nod, Mabel spit into her hand and shook Dipper's before he could pull away.

"That wasn't a spit shake!" he pulled his hand away and wiped it on his pants, falling to his knees to dig his hand sanitizer out of his bag. Mabel only laughed and started unpacking. After all, she was confident that she would be the one to win Wirt over.

* * *

"So, Greg, what did we learn today?" Wirt asked his younger brother, holding the grappling hook away from the ten year-old.

"Don't use grappling hooks in front of Wirt, or Mr. Pinecone," Greg said seriously with a determined nod.

"Yes, good- No! That's not what we learned. Don't use grappling hooks at all. Because the shack has a lot of expensive things, and windows, that _we can't afford to replace,"_ Wirt said the last part at a whisper, since he could tell that Stan was listening in.

"Tell the kid to stop calling me pinecone, would ya?" Stan requested as re relocated the grappling hooks to a place where Greg couldn't reach. Wirt didn't say anything, but he knew that he would manage to get a hold of them again somehow.

"Um, yes sir, Mr. Pines. Greg, just… don't touch anything. All summer. And don't call anyone anything that isn't their name," Wirt instructed, really needing to keep his summer job. It was either Gravity Falls or summer camp, and he would take Gravity Falls any day.

"Roger that, Captain Wirt," Greg nodded, turning and walking out of the shack. Wirt didn't stop him, because he knew that he wouldn't go far.

"Don't go into the woods, Greg!" He called before he walked back behind the counter.

"I know!" Greg called back. He had misplaced Jason Funderberker and was going to look for him.

"Why won't you let the kid go into the woods?" Stan asked as he marked up the prices on, well, everything. "If he gets lost, so what? A man can learn all sorts of things from those woods. Like how to get out of a bear trap!" he exclaimed with a frightening smile. "Did you ever wonder how I lost this eye?" he pointed to the eye covered with his signature eye patch.

"Not… Not exactly, Mr. Pines. That eye patch is fake," Wirt said, returning to his place behind the counter just in case someone stopped by. Nobody would at this time, since it was nearing seven o'clock and summer had just started.

"Who told you that?!"

"Sir, it was on your other eye yesterday. And I don't think you can get your eye caught in a bear trap," he shrugged. Stan just huffed and muttered about how "dang kids are too smart these days" under his breath. Wirt was distracted from his lack of work by his embarrassingly out-of-date flip phone ringing in his pocket. He had expected it to be his mother or maybe even Greg's dad, but he was surprised to see Sara's number on the screen.

"Mr. Pines, I have to take this," he said, rushing out of the room to answer his phone. "Um, hey, Sara, how's life?" _How's life? Really?_ "Oh, no, I can't come over today. Or… all summer… No! No, it's not because of you, no. Me and Greg are in Oregon all summer. It was either this or summer camp, and at least this place has air conditioning." He sighed a bit, realizing that he hadn't even told his girlfriend that he was out of the state all summer. "Yeah, after summer I was planning on going to the community college for the first two years. You're going to… Oh." Sara was going to a different college than him next year. Out of state.

"We can still make it work, right? We can. Totally. Long distance is- Yeah, I know. We can video chat! Except… I don't have a laptop. Shit, um… I can, well, call… a lot?" This was not going as expected. This was _not_ going as expected. Sara's next words resonated in his head and he felt his stomach drop to his ankles.

" _I don't think we can make this work, Wirt,"_

"Sara, please, just, don't make any hasty decisions. It's been years, we can't end this now, please," Three years. It seemed like eternity and his little eternity with Sara was stopping now.

 _"It's better we end this now than stall, Wirt. I'm sorry. I can't be with you if I'm never going to see you again. I'm sorry,"_

"Sara! Please!" he begged, not sure at which point in this conversation he had started crying. Perfect. What a wonderful way to begin his summer. Wirt waited for a reply, but then was given all he needed by the tone of the phone. She hung up on him. She dumped him _then didn't even say goodbye._ He slid down to the floor with his back against the wall, resting his head in his hand and his elbow on his knee. Just to further his bad luck, just when he wanted to be alone, his embarrassing crying session was interrupted by none other than Dipper Pines.

"Wirt? Are you okay? Stan didn't make you cry, did he? Because I can tell him off now that I'm taller than him," That was a total lie. He just wanted Wirt to feel better. He didn't want to feel guilty for having a crush on him when he was sad.

"It's nothing. Really, don't worry about it," Wirt faked a smile, for the sake of his potential friend. There wasn't much that he hated worse than someone seeing him cry.

"You can tell me, man, I'm here for you. You're part of the shack now, so you're family," Dipper sat down across from him, not intending on moving until Wirt told him what was wrong. Wirt sighed and quickly wiped his eyes before he spoke again.

"My girlfriend… Well, I guess she's my ex-girlfriend now," _I really don't like where this is going,_ Dipper thought. "I had a crush on her since I was fourteen. We started dating when I was fifteen, since before then I was going through some… stuff. We've been dating for three years," _He's eighteen! Jesus, this is like Wendy all over again! Still, a two year age gap is better than four years._

"She just broke up with me. She's going to a different college after this summer, some really nice place in Kansas. I'd be happy for her, except this means that I'll never see her again. She just called me. And then she dumped me without saying goodbye. So, that's it," Wirt finished. While Dipper wanted to focus on helping him, he had to wonder if him having a girlfriend as some point made dating boys a deal-breaker. It wasn't for Dipper, but it could be different for Wirt.

"Well, I can't really relate. The longest relationship I've ever had lasted three months… And it was with a boy,"

"So you're…" Wirt began.

"Yes,"

"I'm okay with that."

"Yeah, well, I'm glad." Every second of this conversation was making him feel even worse about his chances with this boy. "But all that I can say, I know from my experience in Gravity Falls. This stupid little town is like… a totally different world. Everything is different and strange and abnormal. The best thing to do in this town is forget about your life at home. Focus on the here and now. And especially don't focus on your girlfriend. In Gravity Falls, she doesn't exist." He smiled.

Wirt was confused, but he also felt enlightened, somehow. The advice was cryptic, but at least he understood the overall meaning.

"Thanks, Dipper. You're a cool guy. I'm glad to be part of this… weird little family. Does that mean that you and the Jesùs guy are related?"

"Jesùs? Oh! You mean Soos? No, no, he just works here. But he's like family. He treats Mabel and I like we're his younger siblings," Dipper wondered where he was at the moment. Probably off somewhere with Mabel, he supposed.

"Speaking of, um, Mabel… She kept trying to flirt with me. Could you ask her to stop? It's making me sort of uncomfortable," Dipper had to restrain his smile at that. Even if he couldn't have Wirt, Mabel couldn't either. Ha!

"I'd be more than happy to, Wirt. I'll go tell her now. And don't worry about the rest of your shift, I've got it. Just take the rest of the day off. You've had a long day, and Stan won't really care who's working as long as someone is,"

"Really? Thanks, Dipper. I'll go get Greg. He has to be around here somewhere…" The two of them stood and walked back into the store. To the confusion of both boys, nobody was anywhere to be found. At least, it seemed that way, until Dipper opened the screen door of the shack and looked outside. Outside was a sight that he never thought he would have to witness.

Mabel hung her grappling hook's line, which was wrapped around a tree nearby, while Greg stood on Soos's shoulder trying to reach her, like a 5'6 man and a 4'7 boy would be able to reach a girl who was hanging about ten feet in the air. Wirt looked much more shocked by this than Dipper, who just sighed to himself and walked over to help.

"You should have listened to Wirt, Mabel. He said, don't use a grappling hook, even if Wirt isn't around. I think that was good advice," Greg said calmly, reaching up to grab Mabel's ankles.

"Little dude, I don't think that's gonna help," Soos admitted, holding the young boy as high as he could.

To absolutely nobody's surprise, Mabel was only able to hold on for a few more moments before she fell. Thankfully, Soos's body softened the fall, even if Greg went down with him. All three were silent for a moment before they burst out laughing. Wirt and Dipper both sighed in unison and went to help their siblings and the possibly injured man-child.

"Greg!" Wirt called as he rushed over, much faster than Dipper, who was used to his sister's antics, and so took his time.

"Mabel…" Dipper said at more of an exasperated sigh, helping his sister up nonetheless.

"Soos!" Exclaimed Soos himself.

"So, you three are getting along, I guess. I can't say I'm surprised," Dipper muttered, still looking his sister over, just in case she was injured. She wasn't.

"Dipper! I feel like a haven't seen you in, like, a year, dude!" Soos gave the reluctant boy a bear hug, which he didn't return.

"That's because you haven't seen me in a year, Soos. But I'm glad to be back," He smiled. He couldn't help but feel happy to see Soos again. Just another member of the Mystery Shack family. Their little reunion was interrupted by Grunkle Stan calling for them from the shack.

"Kids! Soos! Other guy! Get inside!" He yelled. "And someone get this frog out of my shack!"


	3. Liar

**A/N: Thank you all for reading and commenting! Here's a new chapter!**

* * *

"He did not say that!"

"He did!" Dipper exclaimed with a smug grin. "He said that your flirting makes him, and I quote, uncomfortable."

The twins stood in their shared room, the room mostly bare and ready for whatever they would decide to do to their individual sides this summer. Mabel hadn't any time to clean up from her fall when Dipper pulled her away from the group to talk to her in private. The rest of them were too busy chasing the frog to notice their absence, anyway.

"Yeah, well… What makes you think he'll date you, huh? He's probably not even gay," Mabel retorted, not really able to think of any other response. If she couldn't have Wirt, then she wanted to know that Dipper couldn't have him either.

He hated that his sister had a point, and a valid one at that. Dipper also hated that even if Wirt liked boys as well as girls, he probably wouldn't date him due to his extremely recent breakup. Or maybe he was the type of boy who got over that stuff quickly? No, no, now he was being selfish. Dipper distinctly remembered him saying that the relationship had lasted three years. Nobody could get over that as quickly as Dipper wished Wirt could.

"Then neither of us can have him. Besides, he's eighteen," Dipper knew that it would be rare if an eighteen year-old would want to date a sixteen year old. He felt ages apart from him, even though realistically two years wasn't that long. Technically, Wirt wasn't even in college yet.

"Even better. An older man," Mabel wiggled her eyebrows and Dipper scoffed, shoving her playfully. His twin shoved him right back. He appreciated the end to the argument. Dipper didn't like arguing with Mabel. Especially over boys.

"So, boys aside, what do you want to do with our first day in Gravity Falls?" She smiled, sitting down on her bed as Dipper did the same.

"Our first day is almost over. Besides, I'm covering Wirt's shift until the Shack closes," he shrugged.

"Why are you taking his shift?"

"His girlfriend broke up with him earlier. I didn't want him working like that. He was pretty beat up about it. He said they'd been dating for three years," he explained. "I should probably take care of that now. The Shack closes in fifteen minutes. I won't be long. You can chat with that Greg kid. He seems more up your alley," Dipper teased his sister.

"He's ten years old!" Mabel protested, faking retching noises. Dipper only laughed as he walked out of their room and downstairs, greeted with the sight of Greg with a frog on his head and Wirt still checking his brother for injury. Stan, as per usual, looked vaguely annoyed.

"Why does the kid even have a frog?" he asked the boy.

"He found it four years ago, Mr. Pines. At this point he's too attached," Wirt answered, brushing twigs out of Greg's hair.

"Jason Funderberker is the one who's attached to me," Greg said as he picked up the frog and held it out to Stan. The old man took a step backwards.

"No thanks, little… boy," Stan replied awkwardly. Stanley Pines was many things. Good with ten year-olds was not one of them. Hell, he could barely manage twelve year-olds.

"Greg, don't put frogs in people's faces. It's not clean,"

"Jason Funderberker is clean!" Wirt still found it sort of awkward that the frog was named after his rival from the ninth grade.

"It's still bad. Come on, we're going back to the house until tomorrow," Wirt stood up straight and was the first to notice Dipper in the doorway. He gave a slight smile to the other boy before returning his attention to his brother.

"House? Where are you staying?" Dipper asked as he stepped out of the doorway and to the counter. Even if he didn't actually have to work at this point, Stan would at least expect him to pretend.

"Oh, this couple is letting our parents rent their house for us to live in for the summer. The guy's nice enough. The lady looks sort of out of it, though. But my parents like to take what they can get, and it's a nice house," Wirt explained. "They also mentioned a son in prison, but I didn't feel like asking questions about that."

Both Pines men glanced at one another before bursting into laughter. Bitter, victorious laughter. Dipper had to lean against the counter to keep himself upright, and Stan, who was laughing especially hard, was hitting his fist against the wall. Wirt looked terribly confused, but Greg just laughed along because, well, if everyone else was laughing, it must have been really funny.

"Bud Gleeful, renting out his house to a bunch of kids! I guess Gideon's money from the whole psychic thing must have run out if they're renting out their house," Stan grinned.

"Four years and Gideon isn't even out of prison. By now he's got to be, what, fourteen? I can't imagine being fourteen in an adult's prison," Dipper shook his head, still laughing under his breath.

"What are you talking about?" Wirt asked, tired of being outside of whatever was so hilarious to the other men. The Pines' glanced at one another before Dipper decided he would be the one to explain.

"Four years ago, when I was twelve, there was this kid called Lil' Gideon. He was a fake child psychic, but everyone just ate him up,"

"Yeah! He took away from my business!" Stan interjected before nodding at Dipper to continue.

"He tried to get with Mabel, which was weird because he was, like ten. I saved her from him, and he swore vengeance upon the whole Pines family," Dipper rolled his eyes. He intentionally let out any details regarding Gravity Falls supernatural stuff, since he didn't want Wirt getting into that until it was necessary. After all, he seemed like a pretty normal guy, and he didn't want to drive him away with monsters and demons and the like. At this point Wirt and Greg were listening with rapt attention.

"He stole the deed to the Shack at one point, and we were driven out of our home,"

"The little psycho tried to kill the twins, and tried to get me arrested. But Stanford Pines does not go back to prison that easily!" Wirt refused to react to how he said he would be going " _Back"_ to prison.

"Grunkle Stan revealed how he was a fraud. He had little cameras on everyone the whole time. He got arrested and was sent to an adult prison. He used to send Mabel creepy letters, but since then he's… stopped. But I'm not complaining. It was weird." Dipper finished.

"What's a psycho?" Greg asked his older brother.

"It means someone is crazy. Nuts," Wirt explained in the best way he could for a ten year-old.

"Uncie Endicott was nuts," Wirt's face paled at the mention of that experience in the Unknown.

"You've got an uncle called Endicott?" Stan raised an eyebrow. Then again, he had no room to judge. His brothers' names were Stanford and Shermie.

"No! No. He isn't our uncle. He was just some lunatic in the woods that said he was our uncle," Wirt said quickly. He had decided from the moment he awoke in that hospital bed that nobody could know about the Unknown. Not a single soul. It wasn't hard to cover the story when Greg told it, since everyone assumed it was a hallucination or coma dream.

The other two looked skeptical, but refused to comment. After all, they both had secrets of their own, and knew not to invade someone else's.

"So, Gideon used to be rich on his child psychic money, but now his parents need money to the point where they're renting out their house. Nice to know the Gleeful's have been knocked down yet another peg," Stan grinned. Dipper wasn't usually happy when someone else was having misfortune, but he would make an exception for Gideon Gleeful. After all, he was the one to summon Bill, try to kill them on multiple occasions, and almost run the Mystery Shack out of business. Dipper still wonderef what happened to Bill Cipher. He tried to push the thoughts out of his mind.

"Come on, Greg, let's go. Thanks for, um, everything, Dipper. Mr. Pines," Wirt nodded and pulled his brother out of the Shack, despite Greg wanting to go on about Endicott and Fred and whatever the hell else he didn't know to keep to himself. He didn't want anyone thinking he or Greg were crazy.

"What's his deal? That kid's a liar if I ever saw one," Stan shook his head.

"Does keeping secrets make you a liar?" Dipper asked, and suddenly the conversation took a much more serious turn.

"Dipper, I think we both know that it doesn't. We've both got secrets, don't we? Are we liars?"

"I'd say so," he replied with a shrug. Stan was most certainly a liar, and Dipper considered himself one, to a much smaller scale. "We've lied to other people. We've lied to each other. I think that makes us notorious liars."

"Jeez, kid, when did you get so philosophical?" Stan scoffed.

"I don't think Wirt's a liar, though," he said.

"Fine, kid, think what you want. What's up with you and him, anyway? You've seemed to warm up fast. What, is he Wendy 2.0 or something?" Stan laughed, until Dipper didn't answer, pointedly looking away.

"Oh. He… is?" Stan asked with a slight frown. Another sharp turn in the conversation. "But he's a guy."

"Yeah. He is," Dipper sounded the slightest bit bitter.

"No!" Stan exclaimed, sounding more annoyed than angry. Dipper looked absolutely terrified, but then Stan spoke again.

"I owe so many people money… God, almost the whole town had a bet on!" Stan said to mostly himself, trying to remember how many people he had bed with regarding Dipper's sexuality.

"Everyone had a bet about if I was gay or not?!" Dipper sounded vaguely offended.

"Yes! I thought for sure your crush on Wendy was the real deal!" Stan groaned.

"It… was. Grunkle Stan, I'm bisexual," Dipper admitted. The old man's face seemed to light up immediately.

"Ha! Nobody betted on that! I don't owe anyone anything!" he said, clapping his Great Nephew on the shoulder before he headed to the living room, muttering something about _"Bisexual… thank god…"_

Dipper was left standing behind the counter, having experienced the weirdest coming out he had ever had.


	4. Weird at Last God Almighty Weird at Last

It was in the third summer in Gravity Falls when Dipper noticed that on his less-than-infrequent adventures with his sister and everyone, he would discover secrets of the town that weren't actually in any of the three journals. It was a shock at first, to think that he was discovering things that even the author- no, not the author, great-uncle Ford- didn't discover about Gravity Falls. He had mixed feelings about facing monsters and such that a grown man hadn't even handles, at the age of fourteen to sixteen.

But, still, as a journal specialist, he felt he had a duty to continue the journals, so that the next poor soul in his place who happened upon them could learn and be aware of just what Gravity Falls was. And so he did. Journal three happened to have plenty of extra space in the back, so he filled those pages in a matter of months with everything he knew and experienced. At the end of the summer last year, he had almost finished an entry on a certain fire creature when it had almost burned the journals, and he was forced to flee. It was more annoying than dangerous, until it got angry.

"So, its hiding spot would be right where we found it, right? It's so odd of it to be all alone like that. Maybe we can learn more about it!" Dipper exclaimed excitedly while flipping through the journal during his shift at the gift shop. Mabel played along to keep her brother happy.

"That sounds like it could be cool. If it didn't try to burn us to ashes," She giggled, rooting through the bin of broken merchandise, otherwise known as the world's most dangerous toy box.

"I said it was interesting, I never said it was safe," her brother shrugged as though it was perfectly normal. Though, to the Pines twins, fire demons and unknown terrors in the woods were perfectly normal. Only when they left Gravity Falls did they realize just how odd all of their experiences were.

"So, say we go find this, what's it called?"

"The Ifrit. A fire spirit! I need to see why it's all alone, and why it attacked us. I've heard that they can either be totally evil or docile and good,"

"Okay, so our coincidentally evil Ifrit. What happens when we find it? Or when it finds us? We can't fight it," Mabel protested.

"It's a possibility that it could just have been in a bad mood,"

"But what if it's in a bad mood again? Can't you just look up stuff about it if you want to learn so bad?" she rolled her eyes.

"But I need to see it! I need a firsthand look! All other stories could be totally superstition or fake. I'm going to be the one to distinguish between reality and fantasy. Are you going to help me?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I am, you silly boy," Dipper knew that even she couldn't resist this adventure.

Neither of them had noticed the other boy in the room, crouched on the lower shelves to restock. Wirt had a way of being unnoticed. He had oddly silent feet.

"What are you guys talking about?" He asked, nearly giving the twins heart attacks. Mabel, who was perched on the counter, had to rely on Dipper catching her and placing her back on her spot when she nearly fell off backwards.

"Wirt! When did, um, when did you get here?" Dipper asked with an awkward laugh, immediately killing it by clearing his throat even more awkwardly.

"My shift started half an hour ago. I've been here since then," Wirt raised an eyebrow, acting like he wasn't creepily listening in on their- frankly, odd- conversation.

"There's this weird fire demon that Dipper wants to go play with in the woods," Mabel answered with a shrug, furrowing her eyebrows at the look she got from Dipper.

"Mabel!" He scolded her quietly. "He doesn't know about Gravity Falls."

"Why shouldn't he? He's weird, he keeps secrets. Besides, he's the kind of guy who can handle odd stuff. Greg's always talking about weird stuff that they've done in the woods. Stuff about beasts and trees and talking animals. He knows something," Mabel muttered in return. Dipper was shocked, and slightly annoyed that she knew something about Wirt that he didn't.

"Fire demon? Is this from a video game or something?" Wirt asked, almost hoping that it wasn't. Maybe these Pines had some experience in things akin to the weird experiences that he and Greg had in the unknown. But he doubted it. As weird as Gravity Falls was, it was nowhere close to the Unknown. At least Wirt knew that Gravity Falls was on his plane of existence.

"Yes!"

"No," Dipper and Mabel spoke simultaneously.

"Wirt, I think Dipper needs to talk to you about something," Mabel slid off of the counter and nudged her brother forward. She then left to leave the two in private, wondering why Dipper wanted to keep the secrets of Gravity Falls a secret in the first place.

"What's Mabel talking about?" Wirt inquired, looking down at the slightly shorter boy. Only by about two inches, but that still made Dipper feel much younger and smaller.

Dipper sighed, cursing Mabel mentally. Why did she always have to do stuff like this? She knew that he wanted to seem normal in front of Wirt, he wanted to look sane! But no, Mabel had to ruin it.

"I… look, Gravity Falls isn't… normal. The people are weird, yeah, but it's deeper than that. To a… supernatural level," Dipper inwardly cringed. Wirt did nothing, just waiting for Dipper to continue.

"When I was twelve, it was my first summer in this place. I was in the woods when I found this journal, hidden in a tree. It was full of all sorts of things; monsters and notes and theories, all about Gravity Falls. I was so excited. I was always a weird little conspiracy theorist, so it was insane. That summer was… one of the best I've ever had. We dealt with gnomes and child psychics and dream demons and weird talking deer who taught me how to be a man…"

"What?"

"Nevermind. What I'm saying is that Gravity Falls is a melting pot for the weird and unnatural. Turns out, there are three journals. I have them all now, and I'm taking the place of the author of journal #3. I have since a few summers ago. I know that you probably don't believe me and you think I'm insane-"

"I believe you," Wirt cut it. He knew it. There was something weird about Gravity falls. It was clear now. One thing he knew was that he was damn glad that he and Greg hadn't gone into the woods at all.

"You… Really?"

"Yes. You do always carry that journal around. And you whisper under your breath a lot," Wirt couldn't honestly say that he didn't do the same thing.

"That's- that's great!" Dipper smiled that one grin that he usually only wore when Wendy was nice to him, unsurprisingly. "So, um, Wirt, Mabel and I were just going to look for this, well, a fire spirit that we found last summer. We had to go home before I finished documenting it, so we were just going to pick up where we left off. Want to come? You can bring Greg if you want." He would prefer that he didn't.

"In… in the woods?" Wirt asked with a quiet, awkward laugh awfully similar to Dipper's. "Well, I don't know, I have my shift here and Greg's a little young and-"

"Please?" Dipper even surprised himself with that. He really wanted this boy to come with them. How embarrassing!

"…Okay. We'll go. I'll go get Greg," Wirt gave a smile to mask how absolutely terrified he was. For the first time in four years, he was going to voluntarily go into a forest.

 _What am I doing?_

 _This is the woods!_

 _Creepy woods filled with monsters and demons!_

 _God help me…_

"Greg!" he exclaimed aloud, looking for his younger brother. The boy appeared out of a bush, with, of all things, a goat in tow.

"Wirt!" he cried back before patting the goat's head and walking over to the other.

"Greg, we're going to go into the woods with Dipper and Mabel to look for something," he said.

"But you told me not to go into the woods,"

"I know what I told you. But Dipper really wants me to go. Besides, it could be nice, maybe? Fresh forest air, woods sounds, demons…" he shivered, remembering that one glance at the Beast he got in the lantern light. A demon if he ever saw one. But maybe Gravity Falls demons were different. Dipper seemed to speak of them as though they were trivial.

Greg nodded determinedly, grabbing his brother's hand against his will and walking to the Shack with him. Mabel and Dipper were already together, Dipper looking elated that Wirt was coming along, and Mabel just looking glad that her brother was happy.

"We're as ready as we'll ever be, I guess," Wirt said to the twins.

"Good! Great. Let's go," Dipper smiled. Mabel was giggling.

"Could you be a little more in love?" she muttered so that only he could hear.

"Shut up," he muttered back, still smiling but now with red cheeks.

"I'll lead the way. Look for any sign of anything burning or singed once we're in the forest," Dipper told the other three before he took the lead, journal in hand, walking a few paces ahead of them. Greg had switched from Wirt to Mabel in terms of hand-holding, and the three of them walked in a sort of line.

"He… likes adventure," Wirt stated. Mabel nodded with a slight laugh.

"Yeah, he does. He used to be a short little nerd. How he's a strong, 5'9 nerd," she giggled.

"He's 5'9?" Wirt sounded vaguely surprised. He seemed shorter in his mind. Though, Dipper looked a bit older thanks to his patch of beard on his chin that people liked to make fun of when it still grew in. "How old are you two again? Seventeen?" he asked the both of them.

"Sixteen. We'll be seventeen at the end of the summer," Dipper answered immediately, wanting to seem older than he actually was. After all, he had to appeal to this older boy somehow.

"Sixteen…" Wirt muttered under his breath. They were sixteen. He thought Dipper was at least seventeen, if not older. That damn beard thing confused him.

When they finally reached the woods, Wirt paused. Here it was. The thing he had been fearing for years. He was finally facing it. Looking down at his brother, who looked totally calm, he stepped forward, expecting something to go wrong immediately. Nothing happened. Everything was the same. Everyone was looking back at him, so he decided to just deal with it, walking forward, farther and farther from safety. Into, dare he say, the unknown.

Dipper was intensely focused on all of their surroundings, turning at the rustle of leaves or the odd footstep. The ground was littered with brown and orange leaves despite the summer season, the trees marked from people carving their names and messages. Wirt found a few of them unnerving, since a few bore words not even in English. They looked like they were in code, a code he did not know nor understand. The boy pointedly ignored them and instead did as he was told, looking for a sign of anything burned.

"Did you know that bears are brown because they eat the leaves that fall on the ground in the forest?" Greg asked Mabel.

"I didn't know that," Mabel looked like the child before her had said something astonishing and amazing. She wasn't even faking it to make the kid happy, she was truly amazed.

"Neither did I. It was a lie," Greg said, not looking up at the girl he was holding hands with.

Mabel tried her best not to look disappointed.

They had to have walked for another half-mile before Mabel finally found something they were looking for. Burn marks.

"Dipper!" She exclaimed, motioning for him to come to the tree. Dipper grinned the sight, and looked around for more.

"This way!" he said to the other three, following the burning trail. The smell of fire became more prominent with every few paces. Wirt didn't know how this fire demon wasn't burning down the forest yet.

"Where could it be? I don't see any fire…" Dipper muttered to himself, running his fingers over the burn marks on a tree's trunk. No ashes came off on his hand. Peculiar.

"Dipper… We should turn back. This is getting weird," Mabel said, placing a hand on her brother's arm. "There's no soot. That isn't normal fire. Last time we were covered in it." She insisted.

"No! We're so close!" Dipper protested. He stepped forward to continue on the path, when the world turned black and white.

* * *

 **A/N: This chapter makes me think of that one part in the Bill Nye the Science Guy theme when the singers are just yelling "BILL BILL BILL BILL BILL BILL"**


	5. Do We Have a Deal?

Three years. Three Bill Cipher-free years. Dipper supposed he was lucky. After their first summer, Bill just sort of… disappeared. But apparently he stayed in Gravity Falls. And the four children were just unlucky enough to come across him once again.

"No," Dipper muttered. "No, no, no, no."

"What's happening?" Wirt asked, leaning down to grip Greg's hand protectively. God, he should have stayed out of the woods. He shouldn't have let Dipper convince him to come.

" _Dipper Pines!"_ Called a voice that brought chills to the twins, and confusion to the other two.

In a flash of light and what looked like blue fire, Bill Cipher materialized in front of them. He looked, well, exactly the same as the last time they saw him. Glowing, yellow, with his stupid cane and hat and bowtie.

"Well, well, long time no see, pine tree!" he exclaimed, examining the other two. For once, Greg was at a loss for words, simply staring at the being in front of them. Wirt looked beyond terrified.

"Get out of here, Bill! We don't need you ruining our lives anymore!" Dipper exclaimed, sounding much more confident than he felt.

"Oh, come on!" the dream demon rolled his eye. "You guys totally missed me! I know _you_ missed me, pine tree! Come on, tell me you missed me."

Dipper's mouth began moving of its own accord, and he quickly covered it with his hands to prevent any words from coming out. But a clear "I missed you" was heard, muffled behind his hands. Bill laughed his awfully annoying shout of a laugh.

"Stop it!" Mabel exclaimed, rushing over to her brother to help. Wirt remained frozen in place, mouth hanging open as he clutched his brother's hand. He was completely certain that they were all going to die. After all, this demon thing- Bill- he could control Dipper, and probably the rest of them.

Bill quickly got bored of playing with Dipper, and he sighed in relief when Bill released control on his mouth. It was odd and beyond unpleasant, not being able to control his own speech.

"What do you even _want_ with us? Just get out!" Dipper shouted at the demon, against his better judgment. Yelling never helped when it came to Bill. If anything, it amused him, the sick bastard.

"What's wrong, pine tree? Is it my outfit? I could change, if you want," Bill said smugly, beginning to change forms. It was grotesquely fascinating to watch. Wirt took a step back, his arm held in front of him in terror as someone identical to himself stood in front of him.

"Now, I know for a fact that you like this outfit! Maybe I'll keep it! What d'you think, pilgrim?" he turned to his double, grinning in a way that was terrifying to see on Wirt's face. At the lack of a coherent reply, he approached Dipper instead.

"Maybe you'll stop shouting if I look like this! What d'you say, Dipper?" His voice changed to fit Wirt's precisely, stepping forward until he was inches from Dipper. Dipper shivered as Bill traced his fingertips across his cheek, looking confused and embarrassed. Then angry.

"Enough!" he shouted, throwing his fist forward to hit him. His fist went directly through his face, leaving him unsatisfied with red cheeks that didn't come from anger. He hated that for a moment, he wanted to forget that it was actually Bill and focus on how close "Wirt" was to him.

"He looks like me," Wirt muttered, staring at his double with wide eyes. "H-He looks like me- why…why does he look like me?" he asked nobody in particular, holding Greg's hand so hard that it hurts.

"I think I like this Wirt better," Greg poked Wirt's stomach in an attempt to get him out of his horrified trance. To his disappointment that didn't actually show, Wirt remained still.

"Ooh, pine tree, you got feisty in four years! I bet the pilgrim over there would love that! If, you know, you could actually speak to him. It'd be way easier if you weren't totally pathetic," he said scathingly. It hurt beyond words to hear those insults coming from Wirt's mouth, in Wirt's voice.

"Fuck you!" Dipper didn't know what else to say. He was embarrassed and scared and he felt like a total coward. He didn't know how to fight him. He didn't even know what Bill wanted.

"No thanks, pine tree, you're not really my type," Cipher laughed. It was an unnerving mixture between Wirt's laugh and his own. "So, Dipper, I see you're still a loser with a journal fetish, huh? Can I take a peek?" he reached forward for the journal that Dipper forgot he was holding, and the boy jumped backwards.

"Never, Bill. You'll never get this journal," Dipper seethed, holding it to his chest.

"Yeah, you'll never get the journals!" Mabel agreed, and Dipper just nodded thankfully at his twin sister.

"You're so mean to me, Pines. Maybe we can work out a sort of… deal?" Bill said with his classic sickening smile. "Maybe I can help you out with your little… something-something for the pilgrim?" Bill stuck out his- well, Wirt's- hand, which was now coated in blue flame. He pointed back at his double, who now looked both confused and terrified. Dipper locked eyes with him before looking back at Bill. He was ashamed to say that he hesitated before making his decision.

"No," Dipper said determinedly, tempted to slap his hand, but he knew that he would only embarrass himself by hitting a hand that wasn't even corporeal.

Bill only looked momentarily deterred. He was about to turn and make the same offer to Mabel, but at the look on her face, he decided against it. She looked angrier than Dipper.

"Fine, then. Who knew the Pines twins were so goody-goody. Whatever. I'll see you around. You can bet on that. Maybe I'll try this body on again for size, eh, pilgrim?" Wirt took another step backwards upon being called on, and especially being called "pilgrim". How did he know? How did he know about the Unknown? He just succeeded in tripping on a branch and falling backwards onto the ground, almost sending Greg down with him if he hadn't let go at the first tug.

The four were all startled when they opened their eyes and Bill was gone. The world had color. There was only one Wirt. It was eerily normal and calm. Wirt was still on the ground, wearing a look that was simply traumatized as he stared at the ground.

"He was me. He could… turn into me. How?" He whispered to himself, fiddling with his hands, as was his normal nervous habit. "…Why?" he looked to Dipper for the answer to that. After all, Bill seemed to be pretending to flirt with him when he wore his body as an outfit. He even mentioned him having a, what was it? A something-something for him.

"He was… trying to extort my personal thoughts for me to give him the journals. He was using your form against me. He can do that," Dipper sighed, removing his hat and messing with his hair to calm himself down slightly.

"You didn't… you didn't think about it, did you?" Wirt didn't care that Bill's offer was to change his own thoughts and emotions, he cared about whether or not Dipper was going to say yes.

"I didn't. I promise. I wouldn't do that to you," Dipper lied. As much as he hated to admit it, he had hesitated for just a few moments. But he said no, so that was what counted, right?

Right?

Wirt nodded, getting up off of the ground. He didn't notice how his pants were muddy. He could only think about how Bill was talking to Dipper while in his body. How he touched his face like that. It was scary, especially since Dipper didn't look nearly as scared and repulsed as he would have liked.

"Let's go home," Mabel placed a hand on Dipper's arm. All thoughts of the Ifrit were forgotten as they retraced their steps to the Mystery Shack. Mabel held Dipper's hand to comfort him, and Wirt held Greg's to protect him from whatever other crazy dangers resided in these woods. Though, the twins made it seem like Bill was the worst, which was comforting in a horrible way.

The trek through the woods seemed much shorter than the walk back, mostly because they all walked in silence, eyes on the ground. Mabel and Dipper both looked the least cheerful they had been since they arrived, and Wirt simply looked traumatized. Greg was the one to break the silence, just when they could see the roof of the mystery shack peeking from above the trees.

"How did the triangle man know that you're the pilgrim?" he asked his older brother.

"Not now, Greg," Wirt shot him down immediately.

The twins were going to ask the same question. Why was Bill calling him a pilgrim? And why was Wirt significantly paler when it was mentioned? The way he spoke to Greg shot down any hope of that mystery being solved. Just another Gravity Falls mystery to be solved… never.

Stan looked angry at first, when the fur children arrived out of the woods, but his expression softened when he saw how the four children looked. Thankfully, none of them were hurt, but Dipper and Mabel looked like they'd seen a ghost, and Wirt looked as if he'd just seen a loved one die. Greg was only unhappy because nobody was talking to him, or talking in general.

"Jeez, what happened to you four? You look like you've been through the mill," he sighed, placing a hand on Dipper's shoulder, as an awkward attempt at comforting him.

"We ran into Bill in the forest," Dipper muttered, brushing his hair out of his face. His birthmark was just barely visible. Stan looked beyond shocked.

"Bill… Cipher?" Two of the four nodded. Wirt was too busy staring at the ground to listen, and Greg was staring up at Wirt. "You didn't make any deals, did you?"

"He offered. We didn't. I've already been tricked before, I'm not risking that again." He remembered how much pain he had been in for days after Bill abused his body for his own enjoyment. Dipper knew better than to make any more deals with that damn triangle.

"Good. Um, what's up with him?" Stan muttered, pointing to Wirt behind him.

"Bill changed into Wirt to… make fun of Dipper. That sort of freaked him out," Mabel answered. Wirt looked away, embarrassed that he was the most effected of the group. Not even Greg was reacting the way he was, and he had been to the Unknown right along with him. Stan just nodded.

"You four go… relax for a bit. Just take a day off. And, Dipper," Stan leaned down to only talk to the young boy. "Keep those journals in sight." He muttered before patting him on the shoulder and moving out of the way to let the kids inside. Dipper and Mabel began walking up to their room, but Wirt took Dipper's arm to stop him.

"Can I… talk to you?" he asked, looking down at the other boy. His eyes looked aged, like he'd seen enough trauma for a lifetime. Dipper looked up at him for a moment before he shook his head.

"Sorry. Not right now," he murmured, turning on his heel to follow Mabel. Wirt and Greg were left alone, hand-in-hand, staring after the Pines twins. They then turned, and left the shack.


	6. Almost

**A/N: Wow this story is doing sort of well. Thanks! All comments are happily accepted! You're all rly cool ily**

* * *

Ceilings were beyond uninteresting, Dipper decided during his second hour of staring at the ceiling of the attic while his sister was fast asleep in the bed next to his. Or, it appeared that way, at least. He had no way of knowing that she had come to the same conclusion about the wall next to her bed. Needless to say, the reunion with Bill had shaken the Pines twins.

"You should go to sleep," Mabel said, still facing the wall.

"So should you," Dipper retorted, not moving an inch.

"I said it first."

"Really, you should sleep. There's no use being scared. Bill doesn't exist outside of the mindscape. He can't hurt us." Dipper knew that it was a bit useless to say that, since he was just as scared as Mabel was herself.

"I'm scared for you, Dipper. He used Wirt against you. And it almost worked. He'll probably try it again," Mabel insisted, sitting up and looking over at her twin.

"It didn't almost work. I said no," he replied bitterly. How had Mabel known that it almost worked? That he almost said yes? That Bill in Wirt's form was almost tempting?

"You almost didn't. I saw you, Dipper. I know that you like him, Dipper, but there are some things that you have to put first," she said firmly.

"I did! I put him first! I put his free will first, and not even you could say that I didn't. I wouldn't do that over some stupid little crush," Dipper sat up as well, only to look down at his lap. He knew perfectly well that Mabel was right, and that his thing for Wirt was a bit stronger than a stupid little crush.

Mabel herself just sighed, and nodded. She lied back down and faced the wall, away from her brother.

"Goodnight, Dipper," she muttered.

Dipper just mumbled a faint "goodnight" and too returned to his original position. Neither of them slept much that night.

* * *

Wirt was in a similar but nonetheless different situation. He wasn't sleeping, because he knew enough not to try. What if that… Bill thing could appear in his dreams. He noticed, when the demon disappeared, that they had all had their eyes closed. Did Bill put them to sleep? After all, the world around them looked much different when Bill had arrived. Everything was in black-and-white and time seemed to move slower.

He sat by the window in what used to be Gideon Gleeful's room, looking up at the crescent moon above him. Any other time, he would be producing poetry from the top of his head, but he wasn't in a poetry mood. Not remotely. The boy gazed over at his younger brother, who was fast asleep on the only bed in the room. Greg insisted that they have a sleepover after the events of that day. Wirt had no choice but to accept. He was awfully stubborn and set in his ways for a ten year-old.

He sketched out a picture of the dream demon in his journal, nibbling at his fingernails as he did so. He was awfully menacing for a triangle. It wasn't really his physical appearance that scared Wirt, it was just his… aura, one would say. There was the undeniable feeling about him that he was all-knowing to the point of omniscience. He knew about the Unknown, he knew about Dipper's journal, he knew about Dipper's apparent… what? Feelings for Wirt? He had seen how the demon approached Dipper, using his own form. He actually touched him! The worst part was that Dipper wasn't immediately opposed to this. He noticed the hesitation. But then, Dipper also tried to hit him, which was admirable. Wirt would never be able to do that.

While Wirt was flattered that Dipper had feelings for him, but the thought made him a bit reluctant to further investigate and inquire about how deep exactly these feelings went. He had just gotten out of a relationship, finding a boyfriend was the last thing he was looking to do at the moment. At least Dipper was a bit tactful about the whole thing. He wasn't blatantly flirting or anything. He treated him like a normal friend, and Wirt was grateful. That didn't make him forget his hesitation to push the demon away, though.

Wirt snapped up from his slight trance when the room changed ever so slightly. What with the darkness, it was difficult to tell that anything had changed. To Wirt's terror, the world had become black and white. Part of him envied Greg, who was still fast asleep, wishing he was in his place. That was until he realized that Greg wasn't moving. He wasn't breathing, or even shifting at all. If he would look around a bit he would notice that nothing was, but at the moment he was too focused on his brother.

"What an unflattering picture! Is that really what I look like to you?" said a voice from behind him. Wirt made an extremely unmanly squeak of fear and fell down at the sudden voice. He turned and stared at the demon that had suddenly appeared.

"What… What did you do to Greg? I-Is he dead?" Wirt asked shakily, his eyes wide with fear.

"Dead? No! He's not even really here! You're in the mindscape, pilgrim, you don't exist right now," Bill said. Even with the lack of a mouth, Wirt could tell that he would be grinning if he had one. His voice was smug enough without such a smirk.

"Stop calling me pilgrim!" Wirt exclaimed much more confidently than he felt. "How do you know about that?"

"I know about everything, pilgrim!" Bill said, his body suddenly flashing with pictures of the Unknown. He saw the woods and the lantern and the animals and… the beast. That one glimpse of his true form still frequently appeared in his nightmares, to Wirt's distain.

"Stop that!" he cried after being entranced in the images for more than a few moments.

"I feel for you, pilgrim. I wouldn't go to the Unknown if you paid me. That place is loonier than good old Gravity Falls. At least this place tries to hide the weirdness! The Unknown is a place people don't just visit and get to leave. In a way, you never got to leave! I've seen your dreams, pilgrim, they're not pretty!" Bill wasn't acting like he usually would. At all. Wirt tried not to focus on it.

"The Unknown is in the past. I don't think about it anymore," Wirt winced as that triggered a loud fit of laughter from Bill.

"In your dreams, pilgrim. Pun intended! I bet you wish that you could be past it. Both of you!" Bill pointed over at the younger, unmoving boy in the bed.

"…Greg? But he's past it. He never had a problem with it in the first place," Wirt protested.

Bill just closed his eye and shook his- well, not necessarily his head. It was more of his entire body.

"You're blind, pilgrim! That boy's nightmares are worse than yours! He's probably seen you dead in his sleep more than you've seen Leonardo DiCaprio in yours!" Bill laughed.

Wirt tried to ignore the obvious teasing and focus on the subject at hand.

"Does he really?" Wirt asked quietly, gazing over at the young boy. It never occurred to him that Greg was affected by the Unknown at all. He seemed to calm and collected every step of the way, no matter how terrifying their situation got. He was even perfectly calm whilst being turned into one of those godforsaken trees.

"Of course he does! Any six year-old would have nightmares after an experience like that," Bill insisted. It hit Wirt just how young Greg was during their time in the Unknown. While Wirt was young himself, just fourteen, Greg was less than half of his age. Six years old.

"What… what do I do? I can't help him," Wirt muttered, standing and walking over to the young boy. "I was too focused on myself. I-I'm useless." Tears sprung to his eyes as he reached down to touch Greg's hair, quite startled when his hand went directly through him.

"You've got that right, pilgrim. Totally useless. You can't even help yourself, what makes you think you can help your brother?" Bill said mockingly, floating over to Wirt's side.

"Shut up!" Wirt suddenly shouted at the demon. "Just shut up! You're not helping! Why are you even here? Do you want to kill us or something? Is that it? Do you want me dead? You can go right ahead, Cipher! Just do it! Just leave my brother and my friends alone!"

"Ooh! Now, there's a change! I'm proud of you, pilgrim, I didn't think you had the guts!" Bill snapped his fingers and it seemed as though a hole opened in Wirt's front, his organs spilling out at once. Wirt was traumatized, but not quite hurt. Did that mean that Bill couldn't hurt him in the mindscape? He still struggled to catch his internal- well, technically now they were external- organs before Bill snapped again and he was back to normal.

"Don't do that!" Wirt exclaimed.

"Oh, come on, can't a demon have a little fun? Whatever, back to the task at hand. You want to forget the Unknown, right?" Bill asked.

Wirt hesitated before nodding with a sigh.

"And you want little Gregory over there to forget all about it too?"

"More than anything," he replied at once.

"Then let's make a deal, shall we?" Bill asked the boy happily. He was glad that they had finally reached this point. It seemed like that conversation was going to last forever.

"Wait," the boy interrupted. "Dipper mentioned a deal with you. He sounded… not happy about it. What did you do to him?"

"Oh, pine tree? That kid just didn't know how to read between the lines. But you do. You're smarter than a twelve year-old Dipper Pines, aren't you?"

"I mean… I guess so," He nodded.

"So that settles it, pilgrim! I'll take away all memories of the Unknown, and on top of that, I'll take away pine tree's little crush on you. How's that sound?" the triangular demon proposed.

"I don't need you to do the last part. Don't mess with Dipper," Wirt shook his head. Bill just rolled his eye.

"Whatever. One Unknown-free memory for the both of you. Done," Bill stuck out his hand to shake. Wirt was taken aback by how his hand was engulfed in blue flame. It occurred to him how this was actually happening. He was trading away his memories in exchange for… wait. In exchange for what? Wirt hadn't anything to offer.

"What do you want in return?" he asked, taking a step back. He didn't want to trust Bill, but he was quite persuasive.

"Good thinking, pilgrim! You're a clever one,"

"Just tell me," Wirt sighed, staring at his hand.

"It's nothing much, really. I'm just a bit tired of my current look. All I want is a new outfit."


	7. Not A Resolution

"Dipper!"

The Mystery Shack was packed with tourists, as per usual, all eyeing the overpriced merchandise that lined the wall after taking the phony tour. Wirt still tried to ignore the fact that he was working with a con-artist. However, none of that was on his mind now as he pushed through the crowd of people, trying to find Dipper.

The sixteen year-old was at the front desk while his sister sat behind him, playing with Waddles. It was pretty clear that Dipper needed help with all of the customers, and that Mabel was supplying none of it. But again, that wasn't on Wirt's mind right now. The only thing he was thinking of was getting Dipper alone to talk to him. He approached the desk after pushing through the line of people waiting, to the actual customers' annoyance.

"Hey, man, I never thought you'd show up. Listen, um, yesterday… You said that you wanted to talk. We still can, if you want. No problem," Dipper said nervously, though he did glance around at the amount of people in the tourist trap of a shop. Mabel was watching the scene unfold with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, yeah, that sounds totally perfect. We should talk, right now," Wirt said, almost frantically as he grabbed the boy by the arm, tugging him out of the gift shop and up the stairs to the attic. How he knew how to get to their room in the attic, Dipper didn't know, but he decided not to question it. He was too busy wondering what exactly was so urgent that Wirt needed to talk about it immediately.

Wirt practically threw open the door when they finally made it, shutting it and bolting it behind him. He seemed… tense. Not that he wasn't always tense, but he seemed much more tense than usual.

"Are you okay, Wirt? Is something bugging you?" Dipper mentally hit himself as those idiotic words came out of his mouth. Of course there was something bugging him, it would be surprising if there wasn't.

"No, I'm… I'm not okay. The- The triangle guy- Bill, I think- he came into my room last night. He tried to make a deal with me," Wirt confessed. Dipper looked terrified on his new friend's behalf.

"You didn't… Did you say yes?"

"No! No, of course I didn't. I'm not stupid. I've been through enough to know that Bill isn't to be trusted," Wirt shook his head. Dipper tried not to feel slightly offended, since trusting Bill all of those years ago didn't make him stupid. It made him desperate.

"So… What's wrong, then? If you didn't make a deal, everything should be fine. He can only hurt you if you let him. But you're strong, you didn't let him. You should be fine," Dipper insisted, more convincing himself than Wirt. He's going to be fine. Wirt didn't let him in. He will be fine.

"I think he's going to go after Greg. This has happened before! Some- Some all-knowing being tries to go after me, and it doesn't work, so… it goes after Greg," Wirt looked terrified for his brother, and rightly so. Anyone would be, in that situation.

Dipper looked confused for a moment, not understanding at all what he meant. This had happened before? Wirt had contact with some other all-knowing being? Another being as powerful as Bill existed?

"Wirt, calm down. You're not making sense. Everything is going to be fine. Just tell me from the beginning what happened… before. When did this happen first?" Dipper did his best to remain calm. After all, it wasn't every day a friend of his was confessing to have experienced the supernatural. Wirt himself hesitated, contemplating how this could go before he started speaking.

"It was, um, four years ago. I was fourteen, and Greg was ten. It was Halloween, and we were out trick-or-treating. Some… stuff happened, and we were running from the police. I was, anyway, Greg didn't know what was going on. I didn't do anything, though!" Wirt corrected himself as soon as he saw the look on Dipper's face. No need for him to think his new friend was a criminal or something. "So… We jumped over a wall in a cemetery, and we ended up on some train tracks. And just our luck, a train was coming. I pushed Greg out of the way and jumped, and we both fell down a hill and into a pond."

Dipper hadn't any idea where this story was going, but he tried to listen and focus on his friend's story just as he had the day before. After all, he was truly interested in his past.

"People think the next part was just a hallucination from, like, hypothermia or something, but we got out of the pond and started walking through the woods, trying to get home. We weren't home anymore. We were in a place called the Unknown. It was all kind of old-timey, but we were in costume so we fit right in. We almost died there… a lot. All sorts of weird things happened to us. But there was this… I'll call it a being. It talked like a man, and was sort of, um, humanoid, but it definitely wasn't human."

Ah. So this was the other all-knowing being that Dipper now had to be terrified of. Lovely.

"It was called the Beast. It had this… this lantern thing, with a woodsman's daughter's soul in it, but it turns out that the soul inside of it was his soul. I-I think, I don't really know. But he had to keep the lantern lit, so his job, and the woodsman's job, was to get kids lost in the Unknown. And when the kids lost all hope, he turned them into these oil trees that kept the lantern lit. I was the Beast's original target, until Greg decided that he would take the responsibility. He almost got turned into a tree, but I cut him out and took him home. I… don't know what happened to the Beast. It might still be around. I don't know," Wirt sighed, running his fingers through his already messy hair.

Dipper was silent for a few moments, trying to comprehend everything. Wirt had been through more than he thought. He knew that almost losing a sibling was horrible, so he definitely related to him.

"I'm… really sorry that happened to you. But you're not in the… Unknown? Yeah, that's it- You're not in the Unknown anymore. You're… here. In this… realm. You're relatively safe. The Beast can't get you, and Neither can Bill. I promise," Dipper knew that his promise was probably hollow, but he wanted to comfort Wirt somehow. He looked distraught, and not at all like himself. Wirt gave a sad smile to the other boy.

"Thanks, Dipper. That really means a lot. I'm glad that I actually have someone to talk to about all of this. I can't even talk to Greg about it, because he didn't take it seriously enough. Well, I guess he did. Bill told me that he was traumatized about it, and offered to take away all memories of the Unknown." Wirt elaborated.

Dipper could understand why that would be an appealing deal. He too had some rather traumatizing memories that he would prefer to be gone.

"No problem, Wirt. That's what friends are for, right? Whatever you need, I'll always be here, alright?" Dipper gave a genuine smile, shoving his hands into his pockets. He really meant it, too. He really did care for this boy, in more than just a romantic way, and he wanted to help him in any way he could. Wirt even smiled a bit too, even if he was in something of a situation.

"I'm… really glad that I met you. I didn't expect to make friends so fast in Gravity Falls," Wirt chuckled, a bit timidly.

 _Oh god, this is just like all of Mabel's shitty rom-coms._

"I'm glad that I met you, too. You're a really cool guy, and even if all of that stuff happened to you, you're probably one of the most normal people in this town," Dipper sniggered.

 _I sound just like character from those rom-coms!_

 _Wait, am I the leading guy or…_

 _Shit, what if I'm the girl part?_

"Normal? Oh, yeah, totally, I'm as normal as they get," Wirt rolled his eyes, and in that moment Dipper realized that, yes, if their lives were a terrible rom-com, Wirt would be the leading man, and Dipper himself would be the leading lady.

"Oh, come on, you're normal," the younger boy shoved his friend playfully with his elbow.

Alright, this is getting kind of out of hand. Make a move.

"You act normal. And you wear normal clothes. And you have a normal face…"

"My face is not normal. I have a huge nose,"

"Your face is fine," Dipper laughed. Wirt raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, so you think I'm _fine_ , do you?" he smirked and Dipper blushed a deep scarlet.

"Shut up, you know what I meant," Dipper shook his head, looking anywhere that wasn't Wirt's eyes. This could absolutely not be happening. Wirt was not flirting with him. This was the same boy that had gone through a breakup a few days prior. Well, _he_ sure got over stuff fast. Wirt laughed a bit, ten spoke again.

"Listen, Dipper… I know that you have a crush on me. I've known for… a while," Dipper was absolutely mortified. How did Wirt find out? He had been the epitome of secretive and smooth!

Not really, but Dipper liked to think that he was.

"But I'm too young for you, or you don't like boys, or you aren't over Sara, or all of the above," Dipper said for him, not confirming or denying that he had a crush on him. But it was still beyond obvious.

"Or… none of the above," Wirt raised an eyebrow, sniggering. "Dipper, I like you. I think you're cute. And you're smart. And… something of a mystery. I like mysteries."

For once in his almost-seventeen years of life, Dipper Pines was left speechless. He was the first boy he developed a crush on that actually liked him back! This was a milestone!

"I-I… oh," Dipper stuttered. Wirt sniggered again at his attempt at speech.

"Just kiss me, kid," he muttered, taking the other boy by the collar and gently pressing their lips together. This wasn't Dipper's first kiss, but it felt a hundred times better. He felt relief that Wirt liked him back, and a sudden confidence that he didn't understand. Wirt was apparently confident too, because Dipper felt himself being pinned against the nearest wall. Not a fiber of his being wanted to argue with this.

That is, until he felt a tiny blade being pressed into his neck as Wirt's lips pulled away from his own. That was something that he would very much like to argue with.

"Wirt, what the fu-" He began, but was cut off by the blade penetrating his skin.

"You really are dense, kid. And you taste worse than I thought you would!" Wirt said in a voice that was not his own.

Oh _god._

 _Of course._

"Bill… What do you want?" Dipper asked angrily. It hurt to talk, since moving his mouth also moved his neck, and deepened the wound.

"Those journals. Duh," Bill rolled Wirt's eyes.

"And you had to make out with me to get to them? Someone's desperate," just like last time, he was acting much more confident than he felt.

"Like I wanted that, Pine Tree! I was just thinking, what body would be even better than yours to possess to get those journals? But then I realized that there were a few billion bodies that're better than yours, so I narrowed it down to Gravity Falls. Your little infatuation seemed the best to, well, corner you!" Bill laughed using Wirt's mouth.

"So you stole a pocket knife from the gift shop and made out with me?"

"Enough chat, kid. Bring me the journals and I won't give you another hole in your disgusting human body!" He said cheerfully.

Dipper, at the moment, hated both himself and Bill. He had been so gullible. Even when he called him kid, he still thought that nothing was wrong! He should have noticed something wrong the moment he started flirting.

But now he didn't. And it seemed that it would be the death of him.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the wait! I've been working hard at school.**

 **Please don't tell me that Wirt is OOC. He's _supposed to be._**


End file.
